| Welcome to SP! - Sign-In | Register | ||
| | |
| MbPost.com -- It's SP for Mountain Biking! | ||
|
|
|
| Matthew Holliman | Fantastic peak  Date Climbed: Jan 13, 2007 | |
| Spent the night in Cd. Guzman, and drove up in the morning to start hiking from the locked gate. We dodged the Proteccion Civil folks easily enough (the peak is officially closed, but we made it out onto the trail before they could hassle us), and headed up a steep chute on the west side of the peak--a class 4ish headwall at the bottom (spicy), then a fair amount of steep and at times exposed 3rd class to the summit. Great climb. There were wonderful views of Volcan de Fuego smoking to the south, and seemingly hundreds of mountains I couldn't name in all directions, including the high peaks around Mexico City to the east. We descended the south side of the peak and down a loose class 2 scree/talus chute on the SW side--this is probably the normal route (it's much easier than our ascent chute), as there was a well-worn trail there. It's a good descent route, but I'm glad we didn't go up that way. This is a very short climb--only a couple of hours or so to the top--but it's an excellent peak nonetheless. There were many flowers out along the road, surprising (to me) for January. | |
| Posted Jan 16, 2007 4:57 pm | ||
| Baarb | Claro as Date Climbed: Nov 28, 2005 | |
| Funny reading about people dodging the Proteccion Civil guys and making for the summit. Views from the summit are increadible when the haze is gone, a very rare sight even in the dry season. You can see everything between Guadaljara and the Pacific, and of course get the best views of the crater of Volcan de Colima. If you're especially lucky you'll get a load of ash fall on you! :) | |
| Posted Jun 11, 2006 8:43 pm | ||
| westcornersville | Route Climbed: normal route Date Climbed: Dec 4, 2005 | |
| This was a wonderful mountain to climb. I'm especially interested in botany--and I got to see one of the highest pines in North America (isolated specimens of Pinus hartwegii can be found at nearly 14,000 feet--so almost at the top). As a whole (esp. between 8,000 and 11,000 feet), the vegetation is a hybrid of the western North American montane forests (pines, firs--though only one conifer species on the mountain is actually native north of Mexico), the Central American cloud forests (Buddleia, Bocconia) and some "in-between stuff" (live oaks, madrones, a few agaves and yuccas). Many very large lupines were in bloom (some lupines were 10' tall shrubs). There was no snow as the monsoon had long ended (though there was still a decent amount of greenery). Volcan de Fuego was spewing out a small amount of smoke--though by the time I'd reached the top (early in the afternoon), cumulus clouds were making it difficult to view the volcano. | ||
| Posted Dec 11, 2005 3:20 pm | ||
| EricK | Route Climbed: normal route Date Climbed: February 23, 2005 | |
| I went up with a local dude in Colima. He and another fellow have set up a sort of 'business' to take people up. I had no other people to go up with, as well as no car to get there, so i went with the one guy from Colima. I wouldn't have got there without his help. He took me right to the summit. It was a party. It's not a very challenging climb, but lots of scrambling, which is fun. It was a lot steeper than i was expecting, which also made it more enjoyable. It is a definite 'must-climb' if you are ever in the area. | |
| Posted Mar 1, 2005 8:47 pm | ||
| ewakild | Route Climbed: Normal? Date Climbed: June 14, 2003 | |
| Emily and I drove up to locked gate at the saddle for the Proteccion Civil and camped there. The next morning, we walked around the gate and down the ridge off the road, taking a well-worn path. Unsure of which route we took, but definitely not the west ridge - believe it was the normal route based on the description on this page. Route is very straight forward and no need for a map or compass, but steeper than expected. Amazing views of Volcan de Fuego smoking!!! Very much worth the drive - rough 2 hours, but no 4 wheel drive necessary. | ||
| Posted Jun 27, 2003 8:10 am | ||
| ScottyS | Route Climbed: West Chute Direct Date Climbed: March 18, 2003 | |
| Did a night ascent of the West Chutes while on a scientific trip to Nevado. Left the locked gate to the radio towers at 1915, fooled around at the Volcano overlook for a few minutes as it grew dark, and then headed for the summit at 1955. Summit time was 2045, and the full moon was just coming up --- no clouds, just spectacular. The wind at the lower saddle was 70mph+! The West Chutes are the most direct way to the top from the Radio Towers, and involve heavy 4th class at times. Due to the searchlights and yelling coming from the radio towers after my departure up the trail, I elected to not use my headlamp --- keeping things interesting. Returned by the same route, and was not intercepted by the locals. | |
| Posted Mar 20, 2003 8:36 am | ||
| ScottyS | Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: Dec 30, 2002 | |
| Did the West Ridge with bearbnz the day before La Malinche. Lots of fun --- too bad it's so short. The East Ridge looks like a fun, scary, longer route. Always grab both summits on this peak! | |
| Posted Jan 11, 2003 3:08 am | ||
| bearbnz | Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: December 30, 2002 | |
| Visited the mountain to collect more data, took the afternoon to cruise the West Ridge route, it is more fun than the normal route. Visited both summits, the traverse between the two is also 3rd class, but a bit more sporty. | |
| Posted Jan 8, 2003 9:39 pm | ||
| bearbnz | Route Climbed: Ruta Normal Date Climbed: April 2002 | |
| I was in Mexico helping out on a long-term dendrochronology project taking place high on the flanks of the mountain, and during a morning of downtime (waiting for a year's worth of data to download onto the laptop) I cruised up to the summit. This peak is not part of a range, so the views are 360 degrees. The only downside was the hazy air from the farmers burning their fields. If you're in the area, don't pass on this peak. | |
| Posted Oct 16, 2002 6:00 pm | ||
|
